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Pussy Riot say they invaded pitch during World Cup final as political protest

July 17, 2018

Four members of the Russian activist group Pussy Riot have been charged with “violating spectators’ rights” and illegally wearing police symbols after they invaded the pitch during the World Cup final match between France and Croatia at Luzhniki stadium in Moscow yesterday (15 July).

Three women, one of them identified as Olga Kurachyova, and one man ran on to the pitch dressed in police uniforms as President Vladimir Putin watched on. In a statement, the group said the performance, titled Policeman enters the Game, marked 11 years since the death of the dissident Russian poet and conceptual artist, Dmitri Prigov.

One of Prigov’s best-known concepts was of the “ideal policeman”, which Pussy Riot dubbed the “heavenly policeman” as opposed to the oppressive “earthly policeman”. In a statement, the group outlined their vision: “The heavenly policeman protects baby’s sleep, the earthly policeman persecutes political prisoners, imprisons people for ‘reposts’ and ‘likes’.”

The statement continued: “The World Cup has reminded us of the possibility of a heavenly policeman in a wonderful Russia of the future. But the earthly policeman, who intervenes in the game every day and knows no rules, is destroying our world.” Read more